Zenith

ICT4D Week 2018

Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Cisco names David Meads, VP, MEA

Cisco has named Mr. David Meads its Vice President for the
Middle East and Africa (MEA) operations, reports ITRealms.

Cisco noted that in the current era of digital disruption,
Meads, in this newly created role, would oversee the execution of company’s
strategy in these two regions, ensuring the technology leader maintains its
momentum at the forefront of digital transformation efforts.

The President, Cisco Europe, Middle East & Africa Region
(EMEAR) Mr. Edwin Paalvast, pointed out that as digital adoption gathers pace
in the Middle East and Africa, the new geographical set up under Meads would
allow for greater synergies, relevancy and sharing of best practices across the
two regions.

“David Meads’ appointment to lead Cisco’s business in the
Middle East and Africa comes at a time of tremendous potential for the region
to reap the benefits of digital transformation, supported by the prioritization
of digitization in both government and business agendas,” he said.

Meads, ITRealmsgathered has over 30 years’ experience in
the Information Technology (IT) industry, having joined Cisco in 1996 and was
most recently Cisco’s Vice President for Africa, where he was responsible for
partnering with organizations across the continent to help them implement
strategies to unlock the full potential of the digital era.

Over the years, ITRealmsreports, he developed a reputation
as a trusted advisor to enterprises and governments, partnering with them to
deliver competitive advantages and efficiencies gained by adopting digital technologies
and would be based in Dubai, Cisco’s hub for the Middle East.

“As we deepen the commitment to the region, we’re excited to
have someone of David’s caliber at the helm to spearhead our strategy and
support customers along their digitization journey. One of David’s priorities
will be helping Cisco’s customers and partners create value in a highly
connected, digital world, while enabling greater responsiveness to emerging
market and customer needs,” Paalvast said.

Cisco also named Cathy Smith, who is currently the
Managing Director for Cisco Southern Africa to now look after the whole of
the Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region reporting to David Meads.

While, Olakunle Oloruntimehin retained his role as General Manager: Nigeria and English speaking West Africa as well as David Bunei who is the General Manager: East Africa and Indian Ocean Islands, remain in their roles
but now report to Smith in her expanded role.